http://www.daviscup.com/news/newsarticle.asp?id=13352

Beck launches Slovak bid to make history

Draws seldom have a major impact on the outcome of Davis Cup by BNP
Paribas ties, but Argentina arguably has more to be happy about after
the draw ceremony in Bratislava left the semifinal line-up between
the Slovak Republic and Argentina as:

Karol Beck (SVK) v Guillermo Coria (ARG)
Dominik Hrbaty (SVK) v David Nalbandian (ARG)
Karol Beck/Michal Mertinak (SVK) v David Nalbandian/Mariano Puerta
(ARG)
Dominik Hrbaty (SVK) v Guillermo Coria (ARG)
Karol Beck (SVK) v David Nalbandian (ARG)

The favourites on the basis of their superior rankings, Argentina's
Achilles heel looked most likely to be if Slovakia's top player
Dominik Hrbaty beat David Nalbandian, and Guillermo Coria then got
nervous against a free-swinging Karol Beck. As it is, Coria will not
have to wait, and Beck won't be able to swing as freely when the pair
open the Slovaks' first-ever Davis Cup semifinal at three o'clock
local time on Friday afternoon.

Despite occasional mutterings about the speed of the rubberised
hardcourt laid in the Sibamac Arena at the National Tennis Centre,
Argentina's players seem to be well-focused on what is a tricky
assignment. Coria has been striking the ball well in practice, and
his relations with Gaston Gaudio, which were somewhat strained when
the two represented Argentina at the World Team Cup in May, seem
professionally cordial. Gaudio, the 2004 Roland Garros champion and
current world No. 11 who isn't scheduled to play here, such is the
strength of the visitors' line-up, said: "My job is to support the
team, and to play if necessary."

Such a coherence of purpose is down in large part to the influence of
Argentina's captain Alberto Mancini. Voted in by the players last
year, the former top-tenner has moulded four disparate characters
into a unit pulling in one direction. His players are certainly
having fun in Bratislava, and it will take a massive effort from the
48th-ranked Beck to upset the eighth-ranked Coria, who was a finalist
in Beijing last Sunday, only losing to the world No. 2 Rafael Nadal
in a final set.

Assuming Coria wins, Dominik Hrbaty will face major pressure when he
faces Argentina's hero from the quarterfinal in Sydney, David
Nalbandian. If the Slovaks are to upset the only non-European nation
left in the 2005 World Group, Hrbaty must beat Nalbandian. The 27-
year-old Slovak – ranked 19th to Nalbandian's 9th – seemed nervous at
the draw ceremony, but said he doesn't mind waiting for the Beck-
Coria match to run its course.

"I'm used to waiting," he says, "it's the same as at a Grand Slam
when you have a men's match before you, that can take from 1½ to five
hours. I've been a professional for 10 years on the circuit and I
know what to do, it's not a big deal for me."

Maybe not, but 10 years on the tour tells him how much momentum the
team winning the first rubber can have. He also knows that with the
Slovak Republic blessed with three home draws so far in 2005 – and a
possible home final depending on the outcome in Split – this could be
his only opportunity of playing in a Davis Cup final.

There were no surprises in the doubles nominations. Slovakia's
captain Milos Mecir has stuck with the combination of Beck and Michal
Mertinak which has won both his country's doubles rubbers so far this
year, while Mancini resumes the successful pairing he discovered at
the quarterfinal in Sydney, Nalbandian teaming up with the French
Open runner-up Mariano Puerta.